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Friday, February 17, 2017

A 2016 fitness recap. This is relevant, I promise.

Next Friday I am
going to start a new series on my blog called “Fitness Fridays”.In order for the series to make sense, I need
you to know about my 2016 fitness endeavors and my 2017 fitness plans.

Let’s
recap…

After my
daughter was born in February 2015, I made loose plans to register for a race
close to her one year birthday.I was
really excited to start running again and I thought it would be a great way to
get back in shape after having a baby.

Surprisingly, my
daughter loved stroller runs as a baby, so I was in better running shape at the
start of 2016 than I had expected. My unanticipated fitness level made me do
something foolish.I decided to try to
cross “break 1:40 in a half marathon” off of my bucket list just fourteen
months after having a baby.

Spoiler
alert:It didn’t happen.

Here’s what
happened instead: My training went perfectly and I thought I had a real chance
of running as fast as lightning (which is scientifically proven to be about
7:35 pace for 13.1 miles).

Then the night before
the race, things went buck wild.

The
weather instantly dropped from 45 degrees to 19 degrees.

My
daughter picked MY pre race night to be, thus far, the only night of HER life
that she slept zero hours.

By morning, I
was freezing and exhausted.I quickly grabbed
my pre packed post race bag and waited for my brother (also racing) to pick me
up.My brother had three jobs; be on
time (job #1 failed) print directions (job #2 failed) and figure out where to
park (job #3 failed).

Fortunately, we
made it to the race on time, found a parking spot half a mile from the starting
line, ran to the start line in our winter coats, discovered that they didn’t
have a gear-check, and hid our coats, car keys, and cash under a table in a
picnic pavilion.

I am not making
this up.

Positive side
note: My husband and daughter came to watch me race! They drove to four
different mile markers and jumped out of the car wrapped in blankets and waved
every time I ran past them. My daughter yelled “ZOOM!” when I went by.It was the best.

The Race

I ran as fast as
I could.

It snowed. My glasses
got wet.

The sun came out.
My glasses fogged.

I tried to run
without glasses.

Not wearing
glasses made me dizzy.

I stopped no
less than ten times to wipe the water and fog off of my glasses.

Around mile 10, I
realized I was running on 1-2 hours of sleep.

I finished in
1:45:19

Post Race

I scarfed down
two bagels, miraculously found my coat and cash where I left them, forgot my
post race bag in my brother’s car, drove home with my daughter and husband, and
spent the rest of the day walking around like a zombie (I don’t do naps).

Now you are
caught up to May of 2016.

May-December
2016

May: I didn’t
let the dream die.I decided to run
another race in July.I knew I could
break 1:40!

June: My
daughter’s naptime changed, she discovered she liked parks better than the
stroller, it got to hot too run outdoors with a one year old. I decided to play
at the park more and run less.

July: I put my
half marathon goal on the back burner. I started lifting weights 4 days per
week.

August and September: I continued lifting weights.

October: I
though about doing a few long runs, but then killer clowns became a thing.

November: I just
had fun.

December: I
realized that without any real plans, I had managed to stay in shape for all of
2016.

Turns out, I
enjoy being healthy and active. Goals are nice, but maintaining my health and having fun while I do what I love is better.

2017

January:Instead of making a specific new year’s goal with
a measurable outcome (like every resource recommends), I made a simple but
broad new year’s resolution to “maintain my fitness in 2017”.

Here’s what I’ve
done so far this year:

I did 15 minutes
of yoga per day in January.

I started the
year with an average of 10-15 miles of running per week.

I quit lifting
weights. (Hey, at least I’ve maintained my weakness!)

I started a 40
day running challenge on February 1st that my husband put together
for his cross country team and I am still going strong.

I am doing a
variety of things, I am maintaining balance, and I am having fun. Maybe one day I will break 1:40 in a half marathon and maybe I won't! The important thing is that I enjoy the journey.

Boom! Now you
are caught up!

Starting Friday,
I am going to record my fitness adventures in a regular series that I am calling
Fitness Fridays.It’s going to be fun,
and I hope you will join me!

Questions: Do you make specific
fitness goals? Do you think exercise is fun or a chore?

5 comments:

I can relate to the "doing what I love is better" mentality. :) Be proud of your 1:45, which is a great time, let alone a great postpartum time. Like you, a sub-1:40 half marathon eludes me. To this day my best half marathons are 1:41:27 (hilliest race I've ever run) and 1:41:36 (the first half of a 3:18 full marathon). I think part of my issue is that (1) I tend to use halfs as stepping stones to fulls, so I don't run them at my peak fitness/motivation, and (2) my body's built more for distance than speed. While I'd love to still break 1:40 someday, I'm with you that the journey matters more than the result. I so admire your 2017 fitness determination--I'm personally in a winter slump. Keep on keeping on--you're amazing. Cheers!

Wow! Running 1:41:36 at the beginning of a marathon is crazy! I like the explanation that your body is built more for distance than speed. I think I am the same way. Sometimes I feel like the coyote from the roadrunner cartoons--like I need to run in place for awhile before I actually get moving. Ha! The tricky thing is, I know breaking 1:40 for a half is a long shot for me, BUT I feel like if I train right and all conditions are perfect, I might have an actual chance. Maybe one day!

Ha! I hope you do decide to do a half this year! I like reading your race recaps and running posts. The hardest part for me is actually finding the time to run, I don't know how you can fit in training with a full school day and after school activities. I think you should train for an entire summer and then smash 2 hours the weekend before school starts. Ha!